Chapter Summaries

Chen Yi learned that Ye Guxian had chosen him to face Shui Hetong in a contest between juniors, using Xiao Jinghong’s name to secure his agreement. After drinking with Ye Guxian and hearing about a South Sea gathering two years away, Chen Yi returned to his business and found Pei Guanli worried that her Martial Path talent was poor.

• Chen Yi and Ye Guxian drank together until Ye Guxian pressured Chen Yi to accept a match against White Immortal’s chosen junior, Shui Hetong, invoking Xiao Jinghong’s name.
• Ye Guxian promised Chen Yi one favor if he won and told him about a contest of Dao discussions in the South Sea two years later, with masters from several lands attending.
• Ye Guxian left Chen Yi with the bill for twenty jars of wine, and Chen Yi paid one hundred taels before going to Hundred Herbs Hall.
• Chen Yi gave Wang Ji instructions to secure medicinal herbs, expand Hundred Herbs Hall across Shuzhou, and buy five Xinglin Zhai shops.
• Wang Ji told Chen Yi that Tianshan Sect disciples had asked Liu Lang to train them after their humiliating defeat by the Five Poisons Sect.
• On the way back to the Xiao Family, Pei Guanli asked Chen Yi whether her talent in the Martial Path was poor.

Chen Yi prepared for the annual examination, arranged for Ma Liangcai to assess physicians for the Medical Dao Academy, and wrote a longing letter to Xiao Jinghong. Meanwhile, Xiao Jinghong sent the Black Armored Army out to test their training and prepared to inspect nearby towns before her Senior Uncle called to her.

• Pei Guanli learned that Yuan Liu'er had produced Qi in less than a quarter of an hour, then asked Chen Yi to teach her calligraphy alongside Liu'er after the annual examination.
• Chen Yi and Pei Guanli returned to the Xiao Family and learned that Duke of Gan Zhang Xuan had arrived to deliver grain to the Marquis.
• Xiao Wan'er brought pastries for Chen Yi's examination and asked about assessing physicians from the Cui Family; Chen Yi arranged for Ma Liangcai to lead the assessment.
• Chen Yi escorted Xiao Wan'er home, then wrote Xiao Jinghong a letter expressing his longing and promising to send red beans with it.
• At Black Armored Army Town, Xiao Jinghong watched tens of thousands of soldiers set out for a test of their training, then ordered Ma Kui to watch them while she inspected Iron Wall and Azure Wolf Towns.
• As Xiao Jinghong prepared to return to her tent, her Senior Uncle called her over to talk.

Xiao Jinghong met with Gongye Bai, who explained the rules governing powerful martial artists and the Contest for Precedence in Dao Discussions. He asked her to tell Li Wudang to participate in the contest in two years, leaving Xiao Jinghong to consider the secrets behind her family’s inheritance and her parents’ deaths.

• Xiao Jinghong left Black Armor Town with Gongye Bai and Shui Hetong, while Su Zhenyue returned to camp with the soldiers’ roster.
• Gongye Bai told Xiao Jinghong that Land Immortals competed every hundred years to decide which race would oversee the world as Hidden Immortals, and that the Barbarian Tribe currently held the position.
• Gongye Bai explained that the Barbarian Tribe’s Hidden Immortal had allowed Wenkela to escape severe punishment for killing Xiao Jinghong’s parents, while the hereditary inheritance of the Marquis of Wu Family exempted Xiao Jinghong from the restrictions on powerful martial artists.
• Gongye Bai asked Xiao Jinghong to persuade Li Wudang to join the Contest for Precedence in Dao Discussions on the South Sea in two years, warning that the duels often caused many deaths.
• Xiao Jinghong agreed to tell her master, while Gongye Bai considered the danger to their successors if he and Li Wudang died.

Gongye Bai invited Xiao Jinghong to watch his duel with Ye Guxian and encouraged her to spar with Great Wei’s rising talents, while Shui Hetong offered to guard the Xiao Family. After learning that the court had issued its decree and that Shuzhou’s new troops were underprepared, Xiao Jinghong headed to the Azure Wolf Army Town, and Chen Yi advanced to the Fourth Rank Mid Stage.

• Gongye Bai told Xiao Jinghong that watching Ye Guxian’s Sword Dao could benefit her and invited her to compete against other rising talents, while Shui Hetong lamented that the invitation disrupted his own plans.
• Gongye Bai left for Wudang Mountain, and Xiao Jinghong told Shui Hetong that Liu Hong and Zhu Hao had been killed and that she had sent Wind and Rain Tower agents to the Capital Prefecture.
• Xiao Jinghong asked Shui Hetong to recommend guards for the Xiao Family, and he volunteered to stay there before setting off for the Prefectural City to meet Chen Yi.
• Su Zhenyue delivered news that Feng Erbao was bringing the Emperor’s decree, Yang Ye would temporarily become Left Provincial Administrator, and the new Black Armored Army troops still lacked sufficient strength.
• Xiao Jinghong ordered Su Zhenyue to prepare to leave for the Azure Wolf Army Town rather than wait to welcome Feng Erbao.
• Chen Yi cultivated the Four Symbols Technique and advanced to the Fourth Rank Mid Stage.

Chen Yi prepared for the annual examination and left the Xiao residence, while Xiao Wan'er arranged to send a letter to her sister. As Chen Yi joined the scholars waiting outside the examination hall, Elder Master Xiao and Zhang Xuan discussed Chen Xuanji's growing power and suspected that Chu Chengxuan had ordered Liu Hong's actions.

• Chen Yi finished cultivating, dressed as a scholar, and told Pei Guanli to accompany him to Jishi Pharmacy while staying out of trouble.
• Xiao Wan'er wished Chen Yi well for the examination, and he promised to speak with Ma Liangcai and left a letter for her to send to his wife.
• Chen Yi encountered Duke of Gan Zhang Xuan and Elder Master Xiao, who wished him success before he departed with Pei Guanli.
• Elder Master Xiao and Zhang Xuan discussed Chen Xuanji's influence and agreed to watch him and Chu Chengxuan carefully.
• Elder Master Xiao told Zhang Xuan he suspected Chu Chengxuan had ordered Liu Hong to act against Fengchun.
• Chen Yi arrived at the examination hall, instructed Pei Guanli to go to Jishi Pharmacy, and was greeted by scholars as he joined the line.

Chen Yi entered the Shuzhou annual examination and realized its unusual questions hinted that the Great Wei Dynasty planned a major military campaign. He concluded that the Xiao Family had been targeted to clear the way for another Marquis of Military, but the chapter left the campaign’s direction and outcome unstated.

• Chen Yi arrived at the examination grounds, where scholars greeted him as Mr. Qingzhou, and he exchanged greetings with Ma Guan and Tang Ye.
• Chen Yunfan inspected Chen Yi’s study basket, stole pastries, and traded barbs with Ma Shuhan while Li Huaigu tried to avoid trouble.
• Ma Shuhan opened the annual examination and personally urged Chen Yi to do his best before the candidates received their papers.
• Chen Yi saw that the examination included unfamiliar legal and poetry questions alongside a policy question about whether the dynasty should campaign south or north.
• Chen Yi connected the policy question to the Xiao Family’s troubles and inferred that the dynasty’s plans had already determined the family’s fate and cleared a path for a new Marquis of Military.

Chen Yi recognized how a hidden strategist had shaped the struggle over Shuzhou and rejected the examination question’s choice between a southern campaign and a northern war. Meanwhile, Pei Guanli stepped in as Jishi Pharmacy faced a challenge from Wen Xiuyin and the Nine Bends Lineage, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Chen Yi concluded that Liu Hong and the Jizhou Trading Company had tried to draw the Imperial Court toward a southern campaign, while a hidden strategist had arranged events to benefit Chen Yunfan whether the scheme succeeded or failed.
• Chen Yi suspected the annual examination’s policy question was intended to provoke debate over war and wrote an answer opposing both campaigns on the grounds that ordinary people bore their costs.
• Wen Xiuyin and three young companions arrived at Jishi Pharmacy to challenge its physicians, while onlookers discussed her Nine Bends Lineage and its reputation.
• Pei Guanli intervened on Jishi Pharmacy’s behalf, introduced herself as connected to Granny Shan, and faced a young man who challenged her authority.
• The young man suddenly fainted, and Wen Xiuyin accused Pei Guanli of using the Mountain Tribe’s influence against him.

Pei Guanli forced Wen Xiuyin to settle the dispute with Jishi Pharmacy through a Medical Dao contest between Zhou Wenying and Yuan Liu'er. Yuan Liu'er identified the rare Deer Dragon Inverse Scale in the first round, leaving Wen Xiuyin shocked and the contest unresolved.

• Pei Guanli confronted Wen Xiuyin over the Nine Bends Lineage's treatment of Jishi Pharmacy, and Wen Xiuyin apologized for her junior brother and agreed to a contest.
• Pei Guanli chose Yuan Liu'er to represent Jishi Pharmacy against Zhou Wenying, despite Yuan Liu'er's doubts about her own abilities.
• Wen Xiuyin proposed that the first contest test the contestants' ability to identify medicinal herbs by touch and scent while blindfolded.
• Yuan Liu'er and Zhou Wenying identified the herbs one by one until only the unusual final items remained.
• Zhou Wenying mistook the herb before her for Biqing Soil, while Yuan Liu'er identified Wen Xiuyin's rare scale as a Deer Dragon Inverse Scale, shocking Wen Xiuyin.

Yuan Liu'er defeated Zhou Wenying in three of four medical contests, forcing Wen Xiuyin and the Nine Bends Lineage to leave Shuzhou. As Pei Guanli took Yuan Liu'er to the Xiao Family, Shui Hetong watched them and met Song Jin Jian, who was in Shuzhou to protect the Cui Family's Eldest Miss.

• Yuan Liu'er identified the Deer Dragon Inverse Scale and won the medicinal-herb contest, while Wen Xiuyin ordered Zhou Wenying to copy the Compendium of Materia Medica as punishment.
• Yuan Liu'er narrowly defeated Zhou Wenying in the contests for medicinal herbs, acupuncture, and medicinal principles, but lost the bone-setting contest; Wen Xiuyin then led her group out of Shuzhou.
• Pei Guanli praised Yuan Liu'er and took her to the Xiao Family to practice martial arts, while Yuan Liu'er wondered whether Chen Yi would teach her younger brother to read.
• Shui Hetong watched Pei Guanli and Yuan Liu'er, then encountered Song Jin Jian and Liu Zhaoxue outside a tavern.
• Song Jin Jian told Shui Hetong he had come to protect the Cui Family's Eldest Miss, and suggested that Shui Hetong seek out Daoist Hua if he wanted to spar.
• After Song Jin Jian left, Shui Hetong reflected on the reasons Song Jin Jian had entered the Cui Family and wished him well.

Song Jin Jian canceled his plans after encountering Shui Hetong and used the Qinghe Cui Family’s name to send Judicial Department commanders to the Xiao Family for Li Sanyuan. As rumors spread about the annual examination’s military policy question, Chen Yi anticipated trouble for Ma Shuhan while Lin Zhong hurried to report that someone had discerned His Majesty’s intentions.

• Shui Hetong heard Song Jin Jian’s tragic history and reflected on how the Cui Family treated people as pieces on a board.
• Song Jin Jian told Liu Zhaoxue to cancel their plan, then persuaded Judicial Department commanders to seek Li Sanyuan from the Xiao Family under the pretext that he was implicated in Zhu Hao’s arms-trafficking case.
• Cui Qingwu and Xiao Wan’er discussed plans for a Medical Dao Academy, while Chen Yunfan shared rumors about the annual examination’s question on a southern campaign or Northern Expedition.
• Lin Zhong suspected that someone had seen through His Majesty’s intentions and decided to report it to his master.
• At midnight, Chen Yi rested in the examination hall and predicted that Ma Shuhan’s days were numbered.

During the annual examination, Chen Yi deduced that someone was trying to provoke conflict in Shuzhou to divert the court’s plans, then finished his remaining questions and learned the Judicial Department had come to the Xiao Family demanding Li Sanyuan. As the examination ended, Chen Yi was insulted over his essays, leaving the reason for the confrontation unresolved.

• Chen Yi reasoned that the person behind Ma Shuhan wanted unrest in Shuzhou and contact with Poshushuo Kingdom and the Barbarian Tribe, and planned to ask the White Tiger Guard about suspicious arrivals.
• Chen Yi completed the judicial opinion and poetry questions, while his intelligence screen revealed that the Shuzhou Judicial Department had visited the Xiao Family to demand Li Sanyuan.
• Ma Guan struggled over whether to advocate a southern campaign, while Tang Ye finished his questions and fell asleep; Ma Shuhan regretted failing to implicate Yue Ming.
• Pei Guanli continued training Yuan Liu'er, Xiao Wuge, and Xiao Die, while Xiao Wan'er told Yuan Liu'er she was now one of the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Wan'er learned that Elder Master Xiao had refused to hand Li Sanyuan over until Xiao Jinghong returned, then went to the examination grounds and heard rumors of an arrest inside.
• After the examination ended, someone called out that Chen Yi’s essays were utter dogshit.

Chen Yi challenged Ma Shuhan’s policy question about campaigning and fighting, arguing that officials should ask the people of the realm before making war. Tang Zixin arrived to take Ma Shuhan and his deputies for questioning, but Ma Shuhan was suddenly killed by an unseen attacker as they left.

• Ma Shuhan gave Chen Yi a fifth-class result and called his essay rubbish, prompting Chen Yi to ask why the policy question concerned war rather than the people’s welfare.
• Chen Yi questioned Ma Shuhan’s motives, and the other Xiucai joined him in demanding an explanation; Ma Shuhan tore up Chen Yi’s essay and threatened to punish them.
• Ma Shuhan ordered the Yamen Runners to seize the candidates, but Yang Ye arrived with Tang Zixin and stopped him.
• Tang Zixin summoned Ma Shuhan, Shao Linchuan, and Zou Qinian to the Surveillance Commissioner's Office for questioning.
• As Ma Shuhan departed with the officials, an unseen attacker struck, and Chen Yi found Ma Shuhan beheaded outside the examination grounds.

After Ma Shuhan was murdered during the annual examination, Xu Jitong died by poison and Ma Shuhan’s household was massacred, prompting officials to investigate possible schemes involving the war and the Mountain Tribe. The chapter leaves Chen Yunfan at Ma Shuhan’s blood-soaked residence, doubting that the Mountain Tribe was responsible.

• Xu Jitong admitted no explanation for killing Ma Shuhan, then bled from his seven orifices and died before he could identify who had ordered him.
• Yang Ye ordered officials to secure the examination papers, investigate both deaths, and visit the families of Xu Jitong and Ma Shuhan.
• Tang Zixin and Yang Ye suspected Ma Shuhan’s criticism of the war had been part of a larger scheme, and Tang ordered the officials to reconstruct Chen Qingzhou’s torn essay.
• Yang Ye told Tang Zixin that new deputy officials were coming from Capital Prefecture, and the two discussed seeking guidance from the Xiao Family.
• Coroners found that Xu Jitong’s poison resembled the Mountain Tribe’s methods, while Chen Yunfan and the Judicial Department investigators discovered that Ma Shuhan’s entire household had been massacred with apparent snake and insect bites.

Chen Yunfan and the Judicial Department investigated the deaths of Ma Shuhan and Xu Jitong, while Chen Yi returned to the Xiao Family and learned that Elder Master Xiao wanted him at an upcoming banquet. The chapter ended with Chen Yi asking Yuan Liu'er about her plans and advising her not to neglect martial cultivation.

• Chen Yunfan identified Half-step Smile Madness on the murdered household and went with Fang Hongxiu and Han Ruixuan to check on Xu Jitong's family.
• Madam Xu pleaded for her husband's case to be investigated, but Han Ruixuan dismissed her while the officers continued probing Xu Jitong's connection to Ma Shuhan.
• Chen Yunfan suggested using Pei Guanli to investigate Mountain Tribe people in the Prefectural City, but Fang Hongxiu and Han Ruixuan hesitated because of the political complications.
• Chen Yi comforted Xiao Wan'er, then learned from Xiao Xuanshuo that Elder Master Xiao wanted him to attend a banquet for influential guests.
• Chen Yi ate with Xiao Die, Xiao Wuge, Pei Guanli, and Yuan Liu'er, then asked Yuan Liu'er about her future plans and urged her to keep cultivating in the Martial Path.

Chen Yi gave Yuan Liu'er secret cultivation manuals and arranged for her to study at the future Medical Dao Academy. Later, he met Lou Yuxue at Chunyu Tower to investigate Ma Shuhan’s murder, and she revealed that Ma Shuhan had visited a painted boat on Quchi before the annual examination.

• Chen Yi taught Yuan Liu'er why she should cultivate the Martial Path, Medical Dao, and Way of Calligraphy, then gave her the Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealment Art and Collapsing Mountain Fist manuals.
• Chen Yi told Yuan Liu'er to join Ma Liangcai at the Xiao Family Medical Dao Academy when it opened and gave her a key to a residence in Pingyao Alley for cultivation.
• Chen Yi painted Ma Shuhan’s likeness and wondered who would be targeted next after Liu Hong and Ma Shuhan.
• At Chunyu Tower, Chen Yi met Lou Yuxue, who said the Judicial Department believed Ma Shuhan’s family and Xu Jitong had died from the Mountain Tribe’s gu poison.
• Lou Yuxue told Chen Yi that Xu Jitong likely followed orders from someone connected to the Surveillance Commissioner’s Office and that Ma Shuhan had secretly visited a painted boat on Quchi before the annual examination.

Chen Yi connected Ma Shuhan’s suspicious examination question to the Emperor’s plans for war and suspected Jizhou Trading Company’s involvement in his death. After refusing another invitation to join the White Tiger Guard, Chen Yi headed to the Judicial Department, where an unseen challenger called out to spar with him.

• Chen Yi told Lou Yuxue that Ma Shuhan’s question about southern and northern campaigns may have been deliberate, and urged her to find the person who met Ma Shuhan on the painted boat.
• Chen Yi suspected Jizhou Trading Company was involved and inferred that the Emperor intended to launch a campaign after discussing the matter with General Star.
• General Star offered Chen Yi another chance to join the White Tiger Guard, but Chen Yi refused and left Chunyu Tower.
• General Star ordered Lou Yuxue to escort Liu Hong and his accomplices to the Capital Prefecture, where the Pavilion Master wished to meet her.
• Chen Yi went toward the Judicial Department to ask Fang Hongxiu about its demand for Li Sanyuan, but an unseen person challenged him to exchange a few moves.

Chen Yi agreed to spar with Shui Hetong after negotiating three favors, hoping to gain Wind and Rain Tower’s support as Shuzhou’s dangers mounted. At the ruins of Puyin Temple, the two prepared to fight, while Chen Yi also learned of Song Jin Jian’s presence in Shuzhou.

• Shui Hetong approached Chen Yi and urged him to spar, but Chen Yi said he had already agreed to hold the line for Ye Guxian on the condition that Ye do one thing for him.
• Chen Yi asked what Shui Hetong would offer, and Shui Hetong promised to do three things within his power in exchange for a spar.
• Chen Yi led Shui Hetong toward Puyin Temple and questioned him about Wind and Rain Tower, whose disciples were coming to help guard the Xiao Family.
• Shui Hetong described the Jianghu’s conflicts and told Chen Yi that Song Jin Jian had arrived in Shuzhou escorting Cui Qingwu.
• Chen Yi and Shui Hetong reached the ruins of Puyin Temple, where Chen Yi invited Shui Hetong to begin their spar.

Chen Yi and Shui Hetong tested each other in a fierce duel at Puyin Temple, first matching fists and then escalating to Shui Hetong’s full Fist Dao against Chen Yi’s perfected Body Dao and Spear Dao. The chapter ended as Shui Hetong unleashed his tower-like Suppress strike and Chen Yi answered with Falling Dragon.

• Chen Yi fought Shui Hetong with his fists, but Shui Hetong deflected his attacks and declared that Chen Yi’s Fist Dao could not threaten him.
• Chen Yi revealed the Five-Fold Spear and unleashed his Perfection Realm Body Dao, expanding his control of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi and astonishing Shui Hetong.
• Shui Hetong recognized Chen Yi’s Body Dao and resumed the battle with his full, domineering Fist Dao, while Chen Yi used his spear and footwork to gain a slight advantage.
• Their fight devastated Puyin Temple and the surrounding mountaintop, leaving Shui Hetong with minor wounds while Chen Yi remained unhurt.
• Chen Yi called down lightning onto his spear and announced that the sparring match should end, but Shui Hetong launched Suppress and Chen Yi countered with Falling Dragon.

Chen Yi defeated Shui Hetong in a spar, and the Little Daoist Lord Hua Huiyang identified Chen Yi as a fighter who had cultivated four Martial Path disciplines. Over drinks with Shui Hetong, Chen Yi explained why he had secretly protected the Xiao Family and asked about the three things Shui had promised him.

• Chen Yi struck Shui Hetong with the Thunder Dragon Spear, winning their spar; Shui recognized Chen Yi's extraordinary Martial Path talent and admitted defeat.
• Hua Huiyang examined the crater and told the gathered martial artists that Liu Wu had won by using four paths of the Martial Path, then left without pursuing him.
• The Old Beggar and other martial artists discussed the coming October fifteenth spar between White Immortal and Ye Guxian, which only invited rising talents could watch.
• News spread through Shuzhou that Liu Wu had defeated Shui Hetong in a spar.
• Chen Yi told Shui Hetong he had hidden his strength and protected the Xiao Family to avoid arousing suspicion, then asked about the three things Shui had promised him.

After defeating Shui Hetong in their spar, Chen Yi collected his promise of three favors and recruited the Wind and Rain Tower to help expand Hundred Herbs Hall. He returned to Chunhe Garden after learning that White Tiger Guard agents would gather in Shu Prefecture City, where he found Yuan Liu’er practicing and was mistaken for a runaway by someone in the Wooden Tower.

• Shui Hetong admitted defeat, praised Chen Yi’s martial skill, and agreed to fulfill three favors.
• Chen Yi explained his plans for Hundred Herbs Hall, and Shui Hetong agreed to support its expansion and guide the Tianshan Sect disciples guarding its shops.
• Chen Yi received intelligence that General Star, Female Tiger, Harrier Eagle, and others would gather at a tailor shop in West Market, then postponed asking Shui Hetong for his third favor.
• The tavern youth wondered about the two guests, and his grandfather identified the Wind and Rain Tower and told him about the White Immortal.
• Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden and watched Yuan Liu’er practice the Collapsing Mountain Fist before someone in the Wooden Tower called him a runaway.